Tucked away on a residential street off Montana Avenue in Santa Monica is a little fashion oasis housed in a converted garage. The treasure trove of shoes and frocks is the home office of Elizabeth Stewart, stylist to the likes of Cate Blanchett, Freida Pinto, Julia Roberts, Kristin Davis, and Jennifer Lawrence. Stewart cut her fashion teeth many years ago as a writer for WWD. “It was like fashion boot camp,” she says. She then headed for the style department at The New York Times Magazine, before venturing into celebrity styling. Recently, The Hollywood Reporter named her among the 25 most powerful stylists. Despite her power status, though, she usually keeps it California-casual with flats and a dress. “I live in dresses. I’m known for always being in a dress,” says Stewart, citing Balenciaga and Prada as go-to choices.
When we visited, Stewart was busy following a fitting in New York with Jessica Chastain via phone and text message. As a busy mother of two, she can’t always fly to fittings, but her advice reaches her clients nonetheless, thanks to assistants on each coast who email snapshots and show her each look in real time. Luckily for us, sometimes you don’t have to be an award-winning actress to get style advice from a pro, as we got to spend the afternoon checking out her picks for what every stylish mom should be wearing this summer